Yin-Yang Contract! Explosive Gambling! How much did the Clippers lose?

This season, the Clippers have made a lot of league popularity.

In addition to vigorously signing many combat forces during the offseason, events about Leonard's Yin-Yang contract are also constantly fermenting. The media is throwing out new details every day, and gathering all the news, basically pointing in one direction:

Balmer is likely to really cross the line this time.

Incident Review:

According to reporter Pablo Torre, an environmental protection company called Aspiration, now bankrupt, originally agreed to pay him $28 million through Leonard's company KL2 Aspire LLC (named by Leonard). And the company happened to receive a 50 million cash investment from Ballmer. Leonard allegedly received another stake in the company worth 20 million.

In short, this is likely to be an invisible contract that bypasses the salary cap. The salary cap on the surface restricted players, but the team opened another door for him privately.

And if this Yin-Yang contract is really confirmed, it is definitely not a trivial matter. Especially the penalty results that are likely to be confirmed:

If it is just a fine, it will not be painful for Ballmer;

But if the draft pick is confiscated, it will be serious. The Clippers have already sent out a bunch of first rounds because of trading George and then emptied it, and there will be almost no hope in the next ten years;

or even more extreme possibility, the league will directly cancel Leonard's contract.

These penalties are not groundless. In 2000, the Timberwolves were severely punished by the league for signing a violation of the contract with Joe Smith. The punishment results include five first-round draft picks being deprived (later reduced to three), a fine of 3.5 million, a contract was invalidated, the boss was suspended, and the resignation of the general manager. The penalty cost is tragic.

After this sword, the Timberwolves were unable to build a championship lineup around Garnett, missing a glorious era.

Now, if history repeats itself, the Clippers are likely to usher in a bigger storm. Just imagine, if the accusation is confirmed and according to the strictest punishment, Leonard's contract will be invalid. He will directly join any championship team with a basic salary, which will definitely cause a big impact on the current league.

As for these assumptions, Lakers fans have already imagined. Before the Yin-Yang contract incident was confirmed, some fans have posted pictures of Leonard wearing the Lakers jersey online.

But assuming the final punishment is only for confiscating the draft picks, referring to the three first rounds of the Timberwolves incident, then simply calculate the calculation:

In 2019, in order to win Leonard, the Clippers had to cooperate in sending five first rounds in exchange for George. Now, three more are eight first rounds.

So what is the price of these eight first rounds in exchange for?

The best results George and Leonard have brought in four years are just a Western Conference Final.

What's even more heartbreaking is that Alexander, who was sent away as a bargaining chip, was already the regular season MVP + finals MVP last season, leading the Thunder to the championship. And this championship is something the Clippers have been pursuing for over the past few years.

All of this is like fate playing a huge joke.

That year, the Clippers' introduction of Leonard and George was undoubtedly the right decision. At that time, Leonard was the popular gangster who had just won the championship in the league; while George was the wing of the MVP-level star. Any team would have made the same choice.

It's just that no one could have expected Alexander to grow to this level in the end, and no one expected Leonard to be so severely dragged down by his health. Especially looking back in the past few years, the cost of this transaction is too great. In addition to the losses at the team level, it seems that it is not perfect at the business level.

Balmer spent $2 billion to buy the Clippers in 2014, and according to reports, the team's market value has exceeded 5 billion. But how much of this increase is attributed to Leonard?

Before Leonard and George joined, the Clippers were already Western Conference playoff teams, and the Los Angeles market itself also has huge commercial attributes. Basically simple operations can basically usher in appreciation.

Six years ago, the Clippers thought they were at the top and had the opportunity to usher in a new dynasty belonging to Los Angeles. But six years later, they may have fallen to the bottom due to violations.

The tragic cases of the Timberwolves back then are vivid in my mind. If the Clippers really enter the same crisis today, it will definitely be a great irony of the era. Especially for Ballmer and the Clippers, this may be the real price of a big bet.